


Skirts and Skins

by Idontlovejessica



Series: Cherry Blossom Nights [1]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam Parrish Has No Chill, Adam Parrish Loves Ronan Lynch, Adam has what Declan Wants, Blusey - Freeform, Canon Compliant, Eventual Smut, Future Fic, M/M, Multi, Post CDTH, Post-Canon, Ronan Lynch Has No Chill, Ronan Lynch Loves Adam Parrish, Ronan wears a skirt but its glossed over, Washington D.C. AU, pynch - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25439488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idontlovejessica/pseuds/Idontlovejessica
Summary: Adam Parrish is chief of staff to Democratic rising star Senator Douglas Fairview (D-VA). Ronan visits him on the night when a big vote is called off, expecting the weekend alone. Politics gets in the way and Adam and Ronan become scary D.C. Power Couple. Ronan wears a skirt briefly in act one.
Relationships: Henry Cheng/Richard Gansey III/Blue Sargent, Richard Gansey III/Blue Sargent, Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Series: Cherry Blossom Nights [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1868806
Comments: 8
Kudos: 116





	Skirts and Skins

“Your floor count is 47. The motion’s gonna fail, you’re gonna have to abandon it.” Adam repeated calmly over the phone. His boss, rising senator and current Senate Minority Whip Douglas Fairveiw (D), huffed on the other end. 

“I know. But I’m telling you, it’s not worth it.” 

“And when will it be worth it, Parrish?” The more refined Virginian accent asked. 

Adam looked down at his desk. A spread of tarot cards looked back at him. He checked that his office door was tightly locked and checked them again. “We have to talk to Williamson, from Utah. She’s on the fence. If we can give her something she might come over to our side.” His thumb rubbed the Four of Swords, Williamson’s card in his mind. Fairview sighed, “Fine. Alright. Cancel the vote and send everyone home. I’m not going to risk my ass over this.” 

Adam nodded and hung up the phone. A quick email later and a nearly audible sigh of relief passed through the Senate Office Building. It was late on a Friday night and everyone was anxious to get home, the only thing standing in their way had been Adam’s boss and the impending, and now doomed, vote. Adam sighed too, leaning back in his chair and loosening his tie. He was glad his weekend plans had been here in Washington instead of forcing him to drive back to Henrietta. It was only a few hours back to his hometown, but on weekends hours were precious. They were so often cut short that any week he could force his partner up to him instead of driving home was easier. Ronan didn’t mind Adam coming home late from an endless meeting on an amendment to an amendment to a motion to strike out a line from an appropriations bill. Fairview had promised his staff the whole weekend off, and the holiday as well, but Adam knew better than to believe it. He checked his watch anyways, Ronan should be here soon. He gathered up the cards spread on his desk, hid them deep in his desk drawer, and walked out into the lobby. 

“I’m heading home, June. That’s a full lid. Bossman says we have the weekend off but keep your phone on you just in case.” Adam addressed the woman working the front desk of the office. 

“Ron.. I mean your boy… Mr. Lynch is outside the building.” June faltered. People in Washington usually reacted like this to Ronan. It was a town of sharp suits and cultivated personalities and Ronan’s utter insistence on being himself at all times threw a wrench into the system. Adam smirked. “You can just say Ronan, June.” 

Ronan was a dark shadow just out of eyesight of the door to the Senate Office Building.

“You’re allowed inside you know. You’re one of our constituents.” Adam called to the dusk. 

“It’s much more fun to scare the suits from out here,” came the grinning response behind him. Adam softened as Ronan wrapped his arms around him from behind and kissed his neck gently. “The vote’s off. I’m all yours this weekend,” He whispered. 

“Mark the time. I’ll believe it when I see it, Parrish.” Ronan sneered. 

“Sometimes I get the whole weekend…” 

“Sure. Tell me the last time you didn’t get a text from the suit all weekend.”

“March.”

“He sent you an email. Doesn’t count. You spent four hours researching soybean prices.” 

“You said text.” Adam protested. He disentangled his body from Ronan’s and opted to just take his hand, leading him away from the SOB and up towards his apartment. He was lucky, he found a place only nine blocks from the office on I street. His salary wasn’t impressive but it was more than Adam had ever seen in his life. They cut through the Capitol grounds and towards the highway. 

“You know what I meant you little shit,” Ronan threw back. “And you haven’t said anything about my skirt, I wore it just for you.” 

Ronan was dressed as he always did, combat boots, black tank top, incomprehensible yet threatening tattoo peaking out, but he had switched out his usual ripped jeans for a mid length black skirt. Almost a kilt really, that somehow looked even better than the standard model. 

“I like it. I didn’t want to call attention to it if you were just experimenting,” Adam said. The couple cut an unusual shape through the city. Adam blended in so perfectly, a lifetime of practice finally paying off, in a dark navy suit and red tie; Ronan a foreboding slash of darkest reality next to him. No small space had been written about them in the capitol gossip columns, the highest member of staff on the rising Democratic star senator’s team traipsing around town with a hooligan. Adam’s own reputation provided enough inches on its own. The ‘Wizard of C Street’, claimed one fanciful headline. It was believed far and wide in the city that Adam knew things he could not know before he could know them. What was stranger still was that it was true. His and Ronan’s connection with the legendary Gansey clan didn’t help either.

But this spring night was blissfully calm. The reporters were at home, the only people who acknowledged Adam and Ronan were the guards at the checkpoints to the Capitol itself. Adam greeted each by name and wished them a good weekend. Ronan ignored them. 

“How’re the Barns?”

“Sprouting. Everything’s up and ready to grow. I accidentally created a new breed of apple the other night, here, try it.” Ronan fished an apple from his pocket and tossed it to Adam. Adam caught it and bit into it, a trickle of juice dripping down his chin. It didn’t have a taste as much as it had a feeling. The apple felt like home, tasted like summer, and smelled like a cool breeze off the mountains. It was a dream. Literally.

“Can you plant these? This is incredible.” 

“No idea Parrish. I’ve never planted a dream before. It’s got seeds though, and I got it from a tree in the dream so it should. I dumped a few on the south pasture before I left. We’ll see what it looks like when I get back.”

After the short walk they arrived at Adam’s building, a stocky four apartment affair set back from the street with a yard. Upstairs the place was small, but Adam had used his salary to furnish it the way he wanted. Granite counter tops, large TV, and plants everywhere. Ronan may be a farmer, but Adam worked with plants the way Ronan worked with dreams. Adam could barely close the door before Ronan shoved him against it with a kiss. 

They kissed hungrily at first, then slowed as they sated the most desperate of their need. It devolved into a loose hug and lazy kisses off center.  
“I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna be able to do this.” Adam whispered, the barest hint of his accent slipping back in now that they were safely in his apartment. 

“Do what?”

“Not having you here every night.”

“We survived while you were at Harvard.” 

“Just barely, c’mon. Move in with me.” 

Ronan pulled back and turned his head away. Memories of nightwash and choking came back to him. It hadn’t happened in a couple of years now but he had been steadfastly living at the Barns near his leyline and dreaming every night. “I don’t know, Parrish. You know I want to but…”

Adam hung his head and nodded. “Yeah. I know.” 

Ronan kissed him again, an apology as much as a promise, and took his hand. “Now come on, let me cook you something, I’m fucking starving.” Time at the Barns without Parrish had left Ronan with a lot of time on his hands. He had filled it with chores, dreaming, and the latest project: learning to cook. Adam hoisted himself onto the kitchen island and watched Ronan throw a towel over his shoulder and start rooting through the cabinets. 

“You have no fucking food in here Parrish. When was the last time you went to the store?”

“I don’t remember. I’m a little busy keeping the country running.”

“You call that running? This country’s running about as gracefully as a baby horse with two broken legs.”

“It would’ve been three if I wasn’t around, you should be grateful.” 

Ronan banged around the kitchen. Adam just watched him quietly, Ronan was a tight little hurricane, knives flying and pots crashing and curses muttered under breath but the whole while a tiny, tiny smile played at the corner of his lips. It was the Ronan he had fallen in love with, but conscious, the destructive power that had driven him through his grief over his father had become an aspect of his personality, no longer the motivating force of it. Eventually, even though he had nothing in his kitchen, Ronan still coaxed a meal out of Adam’s apartment. 

“It’d be better with the real stuff. But ta-da.” Ronan flicked a bowl to Adam. Inside was an Instagram worthy nest of spaghetti carbonara. He looked at it for maybe a second before he began wolfing it down. Adam ate like he might never eat again, like he had burned all the calories he had last time and was a few minutes from starvation. “God this is good Ronan.” 

Ronan ate in great chomping bites. “It’s fine. You need to buy something worth eating, this cheese is shit.”

Adam smiled, “Since when are you a cheese snob?”

“Since you only have this shitty powdered Parmesan in your fridge. It’s not that expensive, Parrish. You can afford the decent stuff..” 

Adam was about to defend himself when his phone rang. They looked at each other and Adam sighed. Ronan rolled his eyes, “I win again. Told you we wouldn’t get the weekend.” 

“It’s going to be nothing. Something quick probably.” Adam looked embarrassed and sad. “Parrish. Yes… No, yeah. I’m fine I was just eating… Ronan made us something. Yeah it was really good… He WHAT? Are you serious? That fucking… Yeah I’ll go right over.” He hung up and threw his phone at the couch, “That bastard.” 

“A new broken leg?”

“Hackfield’s screwing us. He’s pushing the vote through committee so we lose it. I’m so sorry, i have to go.” He started collecting his things again. Ronan followed him and steadied his shoulders and retied his tie, “It’s okay. You gotta go. I’ll be here when you get back.” He kissed Adam gently and brushed a stray hair out of his eye. 

“Actually… Do you want to come scare a senator with me?”

The look on Ronan’s face was pure happiness.

***

Twenty minutes later, Ronan was dressed in the suit he kept at Adam’s apartment and was standing by the door of Senator Hackfield of Delaware (D)’s office. Adam was back in his navy suit in the chair across from the senator.

“I understand your boss’ position, Mr. Parrish, but I’m not changing my mind. My state needs this package and I’m not going to deny them the opportunity this is going to provide.” Hackfield leaned back in his chair and spread his arms wide like ‘what can I do?’ It was obvious he thought Adam was no threat. Ronan smiled to himself, this was going to be fun to watch. 

Adam didn’t reply to the senator. He just looked at him.

“Mr. Parrish, tell your boss he can send whoever he wants but you and your little boyfriend aren’t going to scare me.” Ronan bristled in the background and crossed his arm. Hackfield chuckled, “Keep an eye out, Mr. Parrish, that one looks like he needs a leash.”

Adam cocked his head slightly to the left and held a pause. Then very quietly he asked, “Did you just refer to my partner like a dog?” Hackfield chuckled nervously. 

“No, of course not, it’s just not very professional to bring your, uh, partner, excuse me, into a meetin-”

“It’s not very professional to turn your back on your party for personal gain.” Adam countered, again with incredible quiet. Ronan knew what was happening. He’d seen Adam when he was like this, unsettling, distant, calm in a way that no other human ever truly was. People were not comfortable with this Adam. Ronan loved it. Stuttering, Hackfield tried to defend himself, “I’m not turning my back on the party. I’m helping my constituents. That is a very… professional.. Mr. Parrish I don’t have to answer to you, you know. You’re not my boss. And I don’t appreciate a staffer from a different office coming into mine on a Friday night like this and pushing me around.”

Adam didn’t answer, he just kept staring. Ronan took a step towards him. Hackfield glanced back and forth between the two boys nervously. 

“Look I… Maybe we can work out a deal. I’ll just put in an amendment to the-”

Adam cut him off with a quiet, “No. You’ll kill this in committee until we have the votes.”

“My constituents need this bill.”

“And they can have it when we have the votes. But this isn’t about them. This is about you. This is about you looking courageous without having to risk anything because you know this will fail. I don’t like grandstanding, Senator.” 

Ronan took another step forward. Hackfield looked pale. 

“Grandstanding.. I’m not… How dare you…” The senator was stuttering. Adam knew he had won. He stood up and just said, “This is going to wait. Thank you for your time Senator Hackfield. Have a good weekend.” 

And then he walked out the door. Ronan watched the senator for another second, squirming like a prey animal. “Call me a dog again and I’ll show you what my teeth can do.” he growled and then smiled a shit-eating grin and sauntered out of the office. 

“That was awesome, Parrish. He was fucking wetting himself.” Ronan was grinning ear to ear but Adam still had an aura of cold around him. “I don’t like them talking about you like that.” 

“Oh fuck him, who cares. I don’t mind being your little attack dog.” Wrapping an arm around his waist, Ronan made a little woof noise into Adam’s hearing ear. Finally, Adam let out a breath and laughed. Ronan cajoled him, “C’mon let’s go home. Maybe we can still salvage the weekend. It’s fucking hot when you scare people like that but if you ever look at me with those dead eyes in bed I’m going to dump you.” 

Adam turned and looked right at Ronan, shifting effortlessly into his uncanny aloofness. Ronan pushed him away down the hall, “Fuck off Parrish. I’m not kidding.” But Adam laughed and reached back his hand for Ronan’s. They walked out of the building holding hands into the warm spring night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm reorganizing this fic to make it a collection instead of a multi-chapter since I'm not planning to make this all cohesive, just stories within this AU!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first post on AO3! Super excited. I'm working on other things I hope you like this one. Let me know?? I like this universe so there may be more stories. I know what's happening with Sarchengsey and the rest so I'd love to see them in here one day.


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